Gardening has been a favorite pastime for Katie Flickinger's family for quite a while, so it's little wonder the fresh Central Michigan University graduate is turning that passion into a business.
Flickinger has recently started
GardenHoard, an online company that sells heirloom seeds for a variety of fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs. It offers more than 800 varieties of vegetation.
"It started out as a hobby but became a business," Flickinger says.
She leveraged the help of
Blackstone LaunchPad’s entrepreneurial services at Walsh College's Troy campus. That helped her spike GardenHoard's revenues by 250 percent last year. She has already grown her revenues another 100 percent for this growing season.
"Every year we are improving and getting more sales," Flickinger says.
The Livonia resident now utilizes six community gardens across the region to get her stock. She and her husband are now looking to move to a house with five acres so they can bring all of their business under one roof.
Source: Katie Flickinger, owner of GardenHoard
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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